Met by Destiny
by Lady Astria
Summary: An Alternate Universe Anakin/Tahiri story.... What if they had never met, and yet were forced into an arranged marriage? Chapter 2 is up.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Every belongs to George Lucas, the lucky man who controls and owns Star Wars.  
  
A/N: Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, but flames will be ignored. Please tell me what you think!  
  
It's sunset, here. On most planets, the sun would be at mid-point, shining brightly in the sky. but we're not on a typical planet, I've found.  
  
Even the sunsets are different than the ones found on other planets. Usually, it's a cascade or red, orange and pink against the sky. almost like an explosion, at times. But here the sky darkens, turning dark blue, bright green, and, sometimes, crimson red.  
  
At least those are beautiful. Odd, but more beautiful than anything I had been expecting, since I've grown accustomed to no sunsets- an after affect of being in a ship, most of the time. You can see stars exploding, sometimes, but you can't see sunrises and sunsets.  
  
I hadn't realized until tonight how much I had missed it. And not just the beauty; I had missed the peace you could find while sitting, by yourself, staring up at the sky. In space, you can do the same thing, but I just feel empty there. Space seems void, in a way, and it lacks the spark sunsets contain.  
  
Of course, I'm the only one on our team that actually ponders things like this. Yeali and Derik are too busy with each other to desire time by themselves; Garen is too involved with whatever he does in his quarters all day; and Sarai refuses to think about anything that isn't a weapon. Which might be slightly harsh on my side, but it seems true. This is the woman that announced at dinner a few weeks ago that blasters and lightsabers were her friends, however, we weren't. Left an impression.  
  
I'm the loner; it seems. Well, not exactly the loner. I just appreciate time by myself, simply thinking. Not planning our next move, not debating the qualities of a holo-blade, just. just thinking.  
  
That's okay, though. Mom and Dad have always considered me the 'quiet' one, the one who would rather think than act. And they're right- that's who I am, and it's senseless to try and change it.  
  
Although, I do miss everyone at times. I miss Jacen, and Jaina, and everyone else at the Academy. But I'll be back in a year, and the rest of the team will be back in a few weeks. I can give them messages to take back, and that way I can at least let everyone know I've arrived safely.  
  
"Anakin, is there something fascinating I've somehow missed about the sky, or are you just drifting off again?" Sarai, of course, she's the bluntest. And, maybe because she's the most likely to say what's on her mind, she's also the one who can pick up on everything.  
  
Well, when she isn't hunched over a table, muttering about how she needs a new blaster, or lightsaber. Or anything that could cause physical harm to people she dislikes.  
  
"Well?" She waited a moment, her dark eyes glaring at me while she casually fingered her blaster. A threat, undoubtedly, but one I can easily withstand- one of the things I've learned about Sarai is she hates waiting. She'd sooner start screaming at me than wait patiently for me to talk.  
  
"Fine! Okay, I give up, and now I'm curious. What is so utterly fascinating?!" She tosses her hair angrily- if anyone can toss her hair in anger; it's Sarai. An annoyed groan escapes her mouth, then. I wonder how she'd look, stomping her foot at me? Because I can actually see that, sadly enough.  
  
"I'm just admiring the sunset." I smile, more at her obvious disappointment than anything else.  
  
"Oh. Fine." My mouth twitches upwards again; but she hasn't been around me enough to know I find this funny. Thankfully- I can handle people like Sarai for small periods of time, but they get too rambunctious after that.  
  
Her mouth opened to say something again; but Derik rushing over to my nice, previously abandoned space promptly quieted her.  
  
"We're ready to land, Anakin." Derik grinned enthusiastically, probably delighted to be finishing our journey. Force knows I am. After ten weeks travelling over the galaxy, searching for those data-pads, I'm ready to rest.  
  
Which won't be likely, but I can wish.  
  
"Okay, then." I nod; wincing slightly as the ship begins to land very unstably. 'I could do better' can't help but flash through my mind, and I feel guilty. It's not Yeali's fault she hasn't piloted much, and she is trying. But I could still do it better- and if Aunt Mara hadn't ordered me to let someone else pilot for once, I would be doing it.  
  
"Are you nervous?" Derik stares at me, his brown eyes squinting slightly. A smile comes to his face as I nod, and he seems content to leave it at that.  
  
Sarai, however, doesn't appear to be appeased. "Of course he's nervous, Derik- he's bound to be terrified! We're going home, but he's stuck here for a year. making wedding plans with a woman he hasn't even met yet! How would you feel if you were in his position?"  
  
And there she goes, as forthright as always. I don't think she understands that not everyone is as truthful as she is at times- she expects a straight answer, every single time she asks something. And even when somebody else is doing the asking.  
  
I look over at Derik and we both grimace. We've been doing this for way too long; but at least he gets to go home. Then again- he also gets Sarai. it's an even trade. Or at least I'd like to think of it as an even trade; but the truth is, when they're gone, I'll miss them all. Even Sarai and Garen, as skewed as they are.  
  
"Sarai." I smile at her, a tinge of dryness in my voice. "Sarai, yes, I am scared. But I think I'd like to think about everything by myself for a while, not discuss it with Derik- or you."  
  
Her blue eyes widen in exasperation. "Do you think that just because you're a Solo, you can avoid questions like this? The press will be wild once they find out you're here- I'm just helping you along, so you'll be prepared." She stressed prepared, an inscrutable look on her face.  
  
I sighed before I could stop myself. She would never understand how this feels, so why bother? She isn't the one who's engaged to someone she's never even met, she isn't the one that's leaving her home to live on a different planet just so she can meet her fiancée.  
  
No, that's me. Unfortunately.  
  
"Sarai, leave him alone." Smiling at me sympathetically, Yeali slipped into the room we were in. "We're here, anyway. You don't have time to question him any longer."  
  
Sarai rolled her eyes and jumped off the couch she had been perched on. Taking a quick inventory of her weapons- a blaster, vibroblade, and lightsaber were obviously displayed; Force knows how many she's hidden- she nodded. "I'm ready."  
  
"That's good, but we're more interested in whether Anakin is ready," Yeali shot back, looping her arms around Derik's waist and grinning playfully at him. She cuddled up next to him, and they both grinned madly- they've been like this for weeks now, more because it upsets Sarai than anything else.  
  
"Anakin would like to have a few minutes to himself before he leaves, thank you very much." My voice bounces off the walls in here; and Yeali looks amazed. Knowing her, she wasn't expecting anyone to actually rebel against her desire to get out of this ship, especially me.  
  
"Okay, then, we'll just leave you alone for a bit- we need to hunt down Garen, anyway." Hastily interjecting himself into our conversation, Derik gave an apologetic look my way. "Come on, you two."  
  
Sarai sighed heavily; and Yeali groaned. "Fine." Sarai muttered, exchanging looks with Yeali. "But we want to leave, soon. So he can't stay in here sulking forever.Right, Anakin?"  
  
"Right." I nod; relieved to see them gradually leave, Derik basically pulling the two women out; as they both continued to protest.  
  
Finally, they're all far enough away from my quarters. they've all seemed to have wandered away, leaving me with blessed silence. Something that has been sorely lacking on this trip.  
  
Especially now, when I need it the most.  
  
I sigh, leaning against the headboard of my bed. I'm engaged- I'm engaged. I'm meeting my fiancée in a few minutes. I'm meeting the woman I'll be marrying soon; and yet it seems so surreal.  
  
"Time to go!" With a squeal, Yeali bounced into my room, her long red hair flying out from behind her. "Time to go," she repeated, in a singsong voice. "We drop you off, and then we go back home. Hurry up, let's go!"  
  
"I'm coming." I get up off my bed- although my feet seem very unwilling to move- and walk over to pick up my duffel bag. All of my other clothes and things have been sent here already, so all I really have with me are the clothes I've been wearing the past month, and a few other essential things.  
  
"Good." Yeali grins, enthusiastically, then looks up at me. "Don't be scared," she murmurs. "You two will get along wonderfully. Your parents wouldn't have arranged this marriage if they thought you'd hate each other, right?"  
  
"That's what I'm hoping." A resigned smile comes to my lips, and I heave the bag over my shoulders. "Ready?" I smile again, at the faces she's making. Part of her wants to stay here and offer me comfort, but the other part wants to simply get back to Yavin 4 and relax for a while.  
  
In the end, the desire for relaxation and the comfort of home wins. "Yeah," she breathes, grinning as we approach the descending ramp. Everyone else has already emptied the ship, and soon we will, too. We'll be on a strange planet, surrounded by new people- and I'll be met by Tahiri Veila.  
  
My face falls into a wince as we slowly walk off the ship; I'm just thankful the lights are so dim nobody can see it. Instead of electronic lights everywhere, like most docking bays use, this one has rows of flickering torches. much prettier than neon green lights that can easily blind you.  
  
Well, at least Dantina will be visually pleasing.  
  
"Stop that." Yeali elbows me, and the sharpness sends a spasm through my gut. "You've decided this won't work before you've even met her, and you should just st- ooh, is that her?"  
  
Her eyes trailed over to a tall woman, standing next to two younger girls. "She's pretty, you have to admit that, at least," Yeali murmured, and I nod my consent. She was beautiful, yes. long blue hair, pale skin, and curves that seemed to last forever.  
  
But the scary thing is, she doesn't seem very appealing to me. Pretty, yes. Breathtakingly gorgeous, no.  
  
Finally we reach the Queen and King- I remember them, at least. They used to visit Mom when I was younger. I think she mentioned once that Cassa had been one of her closest friends on Alderaan.  
  
I bow to them, my head tilting at just the right degree, according to what Threepio has taught me. And I feel horribly silly- I must look so, too, since the two younger girls the princess was with were laughing brightly at me.  
  
"It's good to see you again, Anakin." Cassa extends a hand to me, while glaring at the two girls who were snickering. They shut up immediately, and I had to resist the urge to sigh in relief.  
  
I have no idea what I'm saying, but I'm saying something. My attention is on the princess, scanning her over carefully. It's funny; she doesn't look a thing like her parents- maybe she was adopted?  
  
"...This is our daughter, Tahiri Madelina Veila." The King waves to the group, and the three come over, all straight-faced. Which means, of course, they're planning something they shouldn't even be thinking about, if I identify that look correctly.  
  
Suddenly, one of the girls steps forward and grins at me. "I'm pleased to meet you, Anakin," she says, grinning wickedly as my look of shock registers. This is the princess? This eleven-year-old girl- she can't be any older than eleven- is the woman I'm going to marry?  
  
"I look young for my age," she supplies helpfully, as if she knows what I'm thinking. Her bright green eyes leisurely trace my body, and I blush deeply. "But it's okay, you look different than I expected, too."  
  
Well, how nice. How very, very..  
  
"Nice," Tahiri finishes, smirking. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: George Lucas owns the characters (well, except for Jasiya and Resiy) and I don't. It's that simple.  
  
Author's Note: I'm sorry I took a while to get this chapter out, but I completely forgot I had even posted the story until I was going through an old e-mail account. Thanks for the reviews.  
  
This covers the same time period as chapter 1, except it's from Tahiri's point of view instead of Anakin's.  
  
"I'm meeting Anakin today!" With an undoubtedly wild-eyed look, I stared at my best friend in horror. "Jasiya, why am I doing this? Why are they making me do this? I'm sixteen, I don't want to get married, especially to some stupid guy I haven't even met!"  
  
Do I sound like I'm panicking? Hopefully not, because the last thing I want are tabloid writers trailing after me, asking hundreds of questions, but with the way Jasiya is staring at me.  
  
"You pretend to be me," I suddenly blurt out, my voice sounding, well, panicked. "You can pretend to me, and you can fall in love, and then you two can get married and I can. I can do something that doesn't involve looking at dresses for months!"  
  
Looking at dresses that I'll only wear once, I amend silently. Dresses I don't want- because they're dresses, and they get in the way- and shoes. Oh, Force, I'll have to wear shoes.  
  
Well, that's it. The wedding has to be called off.  
  
"Stop scaring yourself," Jasiya murmurs, trying to contain her grin. But it isn't working, because I can tell she's smirking inside- mainly because the smile on her face looks maniacally evil. Then again, that's how she always looks.  
  
"I'm not scaring myself!" I practically scream the words, and I sink onto my bed. "I'm past being scared, I'm absolutely terrified! You try doing this, Jasi. You can be the princess who's stuck in an arranged marriage, and I'll be you!"  
  
I wait a moment, then look up at her hopefully. Funny, she doesn't seem too pleased with that idea.traitor. She's my best friend, can't she just do me one small favour and help me out of this thing?  
  
"You, Tahiri, have an endless capacity for drama, don't you?" With another smile, she sits down next to me and looks me in the eyes. "Tee, it'll be fine. I'm sure you'll get along, and on the off chance you don't, maybe you two could stage a rebellion against your parents or something. Refuse to get married."  
  
My green eyes light up at this prospect, but they quickly fall. "It won't work. Face it, the rest of my life is going to be completely miserable, all because of some stupid pact my parents made." In a mimicking tone, I start, "Oh, Tahiri, guess what! Well, your father and I were in the talks to join the New Republic, and because the Chief of State is such a good friend of ours, we made a deal. You're going to marry her youngest son when you're older!"  
  
At Jasiya's giggling, I make a face. "I swear, that's how they told me. There I was a sweet nine-year-old innocently playing with my friends, and in walks Mom, casually mentioning this!"  
  
And what's worse, I was so startled I lost the game of D'Jerik to some annoying kid who was a year younger.  
  
A sigh escaped Jasiya's lips. "Oh, I'm sure it wasn't exactly like that, Tahiri. Cassa wouldn't tell it to you like that, she'd wait until you were alone." She absentmindedly pushed a blue braid off her shoulder, her eyes looking everywhere but me.  
  
I snorted, fingering the blankets of my bed as I did so. "You weren't there, or else you would remember. If I recall correctly, we hadn't even met yet. How do you know what Mom was like then?"  
  
"I'm brilliant." Jasiya grinned at me; but her smile quickly fell as she noticed I wasn't nearly as amused as she was. But here's my question: if she's so brilliant, how come she can't tell what a huge catastrophe this is?  
  
"Are you two ready yet?" Walking- practically skipping- into my room without knocking, my mother grinned across the room at us. "And aren't you excited, Tahiri? This is a big day for you!"  
  
My mouth opened to say something- most likely about how excited I really was- but Jasiya quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. "She's thrilled, your Highness," Jasiya enthused, while I experimentally bit her at her hand.  
  
A shriek answered me, along with a hand very rapidly being pulled away from my mouth; and I grinned. It worked; I'll have to remember that if she tries it again in the future.  
  
"You bit me!" Gingerly shaking her hand, her blue eyes skimmed it for any cuts. But from the way she's acting, I won't have to do it again- she's smart enough to lose that little trick.  
  
"You stopped me from talking." I pouted for a moment, grinning sheepishly as my mother glared at me. Evidently I'm not supposed to bite my best friend. who knew? That wasn't covered in that stupid book of conduct- not that I follow it anyway. What fun is a life in which you can't even go outside without a posse of guards?  
  
"Tahiri." Mom offered me a warning look, so I smiled sweetly at her. When in doubt- or trouble- go for the innocent look. It fools pretty much everyone, thankfully.  
  
"Sorry, Jasi, sorry, Mum!" I beam, my eyes widening in an attempt to look as angelic as possible. It works on Mom, her face melts and she grins back. But Jasiya just snorted; her eyes doubtful and- scarily- amused.  
  
"It's okay, Tahiri." Jasiya smiled back at me, as sickly sweet as I was. What kind of revenge is she intending? "I just didn't want you to say anything you might regret."  
  
I nodded at her, and she gave me an evil look. Jasiya is like me; she adores payback. Probably the reason we're still friends- we both have attitudes that can switch from cheerful to horrified at the slightest thing, so we need each other. Besides, she's wonderful at helping me terrorize the castle.  
  
Not that it was us who turned the delegates from the New Republic's hair pink, of course.  
  
"Well, you two are ready, then?" Mom smiles at us again, and I'm reminded of the damn subject that I really want to avoid.  
  
The unfortunate fact that we have to go down to one of the docking bays to meet him. Him as in Anakin Solo, my future husband and the man who will undoubtedly cast a reign of terror over my entire life.  
  
And okay- now I'm exaggerating.  
  
"Can you give us a couple minutes longer, Mom? I want to go over my outfit one more time. Tell you what, we'll meet you down in the docking bay in about ten minutes. It's number 263, right?" With a smile, I effectively push her out of my room, ignoring her objections. Basically, my logic is she doesn't have time to scold me- she wants to get there a standard half- hour early, just in case they make better time than they expected.  
  
Once she should have been a safe distance away, I turned to Jasiya. "Don't you dare try to get revenge now. I need your help!"  
  
She smiled demurely at me, flipping her long braid over her shoulder in a gesture that seemed mildly scary. "Seeing you with this guy while your parents make wedding plans will be enough revenge for me, Tahiri. And why do you need my help?"  
  
"I want you to help me startle him," I sang out, and grinned. This would be brilliant. If I could act like he offended me so much, say about. the way I looked, I might be able to convince my parents- well, I'd convince them of something.  
  
An eyebrow raised. Which is unfair, because she's the only one I know that can raise one eyebrow. whenever I try it, I look like a surprised idiot. "Tahiri, how will startling him do anything?"  
  
I smiled brightly. "It'll cheer me up, at least. And I'll hopefully get an interesting reaction out of him, which could be fun. Please?" I adopted my best 'pitiful' face, the one that should have gotten me out of this situation in the first place.  
  
Jasiya sighed heavily, and stared at me. "On two conditions: one, it won't get me in trouble, and 2, it doesn't involve going over to the Dark Side in order to pull it off." She looked at me again, and let out a slight whimper as I nodded in agreement. "Why do I have the feeling this is gonna get us in trouble?"  
  
Even though the question wasn't directed toward me, I felt compelled to answer. After all, my ceiling wasn't going to say anything, no matter how long she stared at it. "It won't. All I want you to do is kinda- Ooh, Sith, we've gotta go!"  
  
With an almost restrained shriek, I grabbed her arm and pulled her across my room, kicking everything on the floor out of our way. "Let's go, let's go, let's-"  
  
"Go?" Jasiya put in, looking harried. "We are. Now what do you want me to do for you?" She grimaced, and looked at the ceiling again. "Why the Sith did I say that?"  
  
I laughed; more at her face than anything else, "Just act. Princess-y. Don't pretend you're me, but Resiy and I will stand next to you, and you can do your regal thing you're so good at."  
  
"Hmm. Flattery will get you everything, Tahiri. But I see you've learned that." She paused in the middle of the long hallway we were in, and wondered out loud, "Why do you want me to act regally?"  
  
I tugged at her again, and she started walking again. Oh Force, we're almost there. Oh Force. "I want to see his reaction when he sees the princess he's engaged to looks like a little girl." Which is true, sadly. I do look much younger than I am. "If he's like most guys, he'll freak," I ended.  
  
"Ah." Jasiya nodded in understanding. "And then you can blame him, and act horrible, and it'll be perfectly justified."  
  
I grinned again, trying to mask my nervousness so everyone littering by the entrance to the docking bays can't see it. "Yep."  
  
"Okay, then-" she pulled open the doors to docking bay 263 open, and this time she's pulling me. "-But are you sure this isn't of the Dark Side, Tahiri? Because it sounds like it is, almost."  
  
Who cares? If I can get out of this, I'll happily emulate Darth Vader. But I still have to reassure her, because when she gets like this. "Sith." I haven't even realized I spoke out loud until Jasiya snickered, her gaze going to where my eyes were locked. The ship that he was supposed to be on.  
  
Damn. Is it too late to run away?  
  
"That's him, isn't it?" Walking over to our standpoint, my younger cousin grinned at Jasiya. "She's terrified, isn't she?"  
  
"Yeah." Jasiya nodded, then grabbed me by the back of my dress as I attempted to make a run for it. "No, you don't. You will stay here, you will greet him nicely, and you will do nothing like run away. Got it?"  
  
I just nodded, and, snapping out of it, sighed. "Resiy, I want you to stay next to me at all times. we're doing something." Before she could ask what, I added, "We're going to let him assume Jasiya is me, so I can go off on him if he says something I don't like to me, after he learns I'm me and not someone else."  
  
Resiy looked at me, her green eyes confused. Then she abruptly turned to Jasiya. "Has she gone crazy?"  
  
"Resiy, she's been crazy for years." At my glare, she reiterated, "I mean, um. Oh, he is cute! Is he Anakin?" She stared at one of the men that had just left the ship, the one with pale blonde hair that shined in the firelight.  
  
I shook my head, staring at the newcomers as well. "No, I don't think so. I haven't seen pictures of him, but I think he's supposed to have dark hair." I then turned to look at the other man, and I once again shook my head. "And he isn't either."  
  
"Maybe he didn't come," Resiy suggested. "Maybe he got sick or something, and."  
  
"No," I interrupted. "Mom talked to him earlier today, when Jasi and I were out swimming. he's coming."  
  
Then, a man and a woman descended from the ship, and I smiled. That had to be him... he looked as ready to bolt as I am. Good, maybe I will be able to convince him we don't really need to get married.  
  
"That's him," I proclaim, exchanging looks with Resiy as his eyes fix on us. "And look. we've already been delegated to the princess's little friends, while Jasiya is, well."  
  
Resiy laughed. "But he doesn't look attracted to her." She suddenly turned to poke me. "In fact, he looks as terrified as you do."  
  
He talks to Mom and Dad for a moment, and then Mom gestures to us. "Guess that's our cue," I murmur softly. "All together now. I want a good reaction." And if possible, I also want to pretend I can't feel him through the Force so much.  
  
"Go," Jasiya whispers to me, as I struggle to keep an innocent look on my face. "Your parents will start to get suspicious if you don't. go meet your future husband."  
  
I glared at her, before sniffing. "I'll get you for that," I whisper back, and then turn to face Anakin Solo.  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you, Anakin," I told him, then giggled to myself as he did a double take. Then my face changes into a playful grin as he stares at me in shock. I was right, he does look very amusing, with his eyes almost bugging out. Could it be he wasn't expecting me to look so young?  
  
"I look young for my age," I offered, taking him in. My eyes go over his body- more for affect than for anything else- and I smile at him. And ooh, is he blushing? Please tell me he isn't that easily embarrassed. "But that's okay, you look different than I expected, too."  
  
I snicker as I can practically hear him thinking to himself. He's thinking this is just- sarcasm, enters here- very, very.  
  
"Nice," I supply for him, my green eyes sparkling and a smirk coming to my face as he stares at me in slight amazement. "How very, very nice."  
  
Well, isn't that what he was thinking? 


End file.
